Penn State Hoops Dominates Canisius In Season Opener 97-57
Penn State men’s basketball (1-0) beat Canisius (0-1) 97-57 for a season-opening win Monday night.
Roko Prkacin led the Nittany Lions with 28 points off the bench on 12-for-14 shooting. The 28-point performance was the best by a Nittany Lion in the past two seasons.
At one point, the Croatian went on a 12-0 run on his own.
How It Happened
To start the season, head coach Mike Rhoades started Dasonte Bowen, Thomas Allard, Brant Byers, Josh Reed, and Ivan Juric. Penn State returned just 26.5% of last season’s minutes, while bringing in a lot of 3-point shooting and physicality from the transfer portal.
Both teams started off slow, trading turnovers, but Miami (Ohio) transfer Byers got the scoring started with a dunk and a three on back-to-back possessions for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State’s defense gave Canisius trouble early, forcing four turnovers in the first four minutes of play. Penn State took that momentum the other way when Prkacin scored the first points of his collegiate career.
Prkacin scored four points and recorded a block in his first minute on the floor.
By the 12-minute mark in the first half, Penn State had built an 11-point lead, thanks in part to Prkacin. He was subbed out just four minutes after picking up two quick fouls.
Coming out of a media timeout, Juric knocked down a jump shot for an and-one opportunity, but missed the free throw.
The Nittany Lions continued to attack the paint as Bowen drove down the lane for an and-one of his own. While he also missed the free throw, his layup extended the Penn State lead to 13 and the score to 25-12.
Penn State kept getting to the line and scoring down low as the half progressed. While Prkacin led the scoring charge, the team spread the scoring around.
With four and a half minutes left in the half, Allard got the rebound for a second-chance layup and then a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions, forcing the Golden Griffins to call a timeout.
The Nittany Lions went into the half up 47-26. Canisius had no answer for the Penn State defense and couldn’t keep the Nittany Lions out of the paint or off the boards. Prkacin led all scorers with 12 points.
Juric started the second half strong, first diving on the floor for a loose ball, and then splitting a double team for a score down low.
A 3-pointer from Byers and a circus shot from Reed extended the lead to 24. Prkacin also subbed back in just three minutes into the half.
J Reed makin' something out of nothing
— Onward State (@OnwardState) November 3, 2026pic.twitter.com/uxlW36VAff
Not long after, Prkacin continued his electric night, going on a 12-0 run by himself, capped by two slam dunks to put the Nittany Lions up 31 and bring his total to 24 for the night.
The game still had 13 minutes left.
Penn State continued to score in the paint with a Juric alley-oop followed by a Robert Blums fast-break layup.
That alley-oop accounted for Juric’s ninth and 10th points of the night, giving him a double-double. He finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Penn State extended the lead to 40 with just over three minutes remaining on a Reed layup. Rhoades then emptied the bench, giving freshman Andy Gemao his first minutes of the season.
With 49 seconds remaining, Rhoades completely emptied the bench, playing Grant Spacciapolli and Aleksandar Zecevic. Every Nittany Lion on the roster played.
Takeaways
- Penn State had full control of the paint, outscoring Canisius 60-32 in points in the paint
- The Nittany Lions also won the second-chance battle 24-4 and the points-off-the-bench battle 53-12.
- Penn State was lead by Roko Prkacin who had 28 points 6 rebounds, Josh Reed who had 12 points, and Ivan Juric who had 14 points and 15 rebounds.
- Canisius was led by Clifton Efinda, who had 13 points and 6 rebounds, and Preist Ryan, who had 12 points and 8 rebounds.
What’s Next?
Penn State will stay in Happy Valley to take on Chattanooga at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
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